When brand community comes online: categorisation of online brand community in a collectivist culture

Online brand communities (OBCs) can be a virtual third cultural place for the consumer, yet important differences between OBCs appear to be easily overlooked. This paper develops an OBC typology within a Collectivist Culture through studying OBCs in the context of Korea. An analysis of the extant literature is combined with learnings from participatory observation of Korean OBCs and in-depth interviews with 40 community members of these OBCs. OBCs are conceptualised into 9 types based on consumer perspectives of the meanings of OBCs and we illustrate how consumers relate different types of OBCs to their everyday life consumption practices. A typology of an OBC is useful in allowing a juxtapositioning of studies and to define the potential scope or boundaries of learnings dependent on the type of OBC. This paper gives an interesting insight into the different positions consumers have of OBCs in their minds. We expect it to help researchers locate their investigation of OBCs within their context.